Ch-Ch-Ch Changing Librarian

Library Technology Conference

2011-11-08T11:33:00.001-06:00

Please consider submitting a session proposal. The deadline is 11/21.

October 11, 2011

Library Technology Conference 2012

Library Technology Conference 2012
Call For Proposals – Deadline November 21, 2011

The 5th Annual Library Technology Conference will be held March 14-15, 2012 on the campus of Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, and the planning committee invites you to submit your session proposal ideas. We're looking for session ideas about technology use in libraries that challenge, entertain, and inspire discussion. We encourage proposals from public, school, or special libraries in addition to academic libraries.

The Library Technology Conference is a conference that mixes keynotes, traditional lecture-style presentations, panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and poster sessions highlighting many of the technologies affecting how users interact with libraries, as well as how libraries are using technology to create new and better ways to manage their resources. The focus is on sessions that are interactive and which provide practical information that will allow participants to apply what they've learned at their own library.

Some possible session topic ideas might include:

· Cloud computing in libraries

· Working with vendors in a digital age

· Digital Preservation

· Institutional repositories

· Augmented reality

· Social networking for outreach and service promotion

· Semantic web

· QR codes

· Virtual research environments

· Search engines / Information discovery

· Web 3.0

· Library apps

· Mobile computing

· Technology and Information literacy

· Electronic books

Please do not let this list of suggestions limit your imagination on session proposal topics. We are interested in hearing about how changes to established technologies are being changed or improved to meet the evolving needs of libraries and also about cutting edge projects that libraries are doing with technology. We want to hear about your successes as well as what you learned with your failures.

· More information about the 5th Annual Library Technology Conference

· Submit a proposal

Proposal Submission Deadline: November 21, 2011

Follow the Library Technology Conference on Facebook and Twitter.

Click this link to forward this message to someone else.

An academic conference about Jersey Shore

2011-06-09T08:49:00.003-05:00

As you may assume, I am quite ecstatic by the announcement of an academic conference about Jersey Shore. A librarian from Missouri was kind enough to email me about this conference. Several articles have been written about this conference, and many of the online comments on these articles are negative and rather hilarious. I don't think the comment writers are understanding the point of the conference (IMHO). I think it's a great idea to use Jersey Shore to further analyze media studies, cultural studies, gender studies, and a plethora of other topics.

Here are a few of the negative comments:

"It just shows you that academe is going to hell in a hand basket." - lovecats
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/19/university-of-chicago-hos_n_864120.html

"And we wonder why education is suffering in America." - robjh1
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/19/university-of-chicago-hos_n_864120.html

"Idiots studying idiots. Yup, that ought to tell us a lot." - Carl Caroli
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/19/university-of-chicago-hos_n_864120.html

"And people wonder why this nation is going to h in a hand basket. Guess I've been referring to it (for many years now) as Empty-V for a reason." - Robert Gilday
http://nyp.st/iT9Slw

I'll probably submit a proposal about using Jersey Shore in library instruction. We'll see...

Here is a link with more information on the conference-
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/05/11/jersey-shore-gets-its-own-academic-conference/

Here is a link to the conference Facebook event page-
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=142357959168139

UPDATE (8/9):
Due to a scheduling conflict, I did not submit a proposal to this conference, and I will not be attending. I look forward to reading tweets from this conference. I'm planning to run the Monster Half Marathon on October 29th.

Larson's hesitation to trust online sources

2011-06-07T15:56:00.008-05:00

I just finished In the Garden of Beasts, and Larson did not disappoint. I also loved both The Devil in the White City and Isaac's Storm. In The Garden of Beasts is extremely thorough and well done. I'm always impressed by his attention to detailed research.

In his sources and acknowledgments section, I smiled as a librarian. The first sentence (below) is great. Sometimes an online source really is the best option. As a librarian, I struggle with assignments that require students to use print resources for at least one of their sources. What if the best options are online? Exposure to print resources is great, but should we continue to demand print resources if the best possible sources are available online?

From page 372-
I tend to distrust online resources but located several that proved extremely helpful, including a digitized collection of letters between Roosevelt and Dodd, courtesy of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York, and the notebooks of Alexander Vassiliev, the ex-KGB agent turned scholar who graciously made them accessible to the public through the Web site of the Cold War International History Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Anyone who wishes can also digitally thumb through the so-called Venona Intercepts, communications between Moscow Center and KGB agents in America intercepted and decoded by American intelligence officials, including missives involving Martha Dodd and Alfred Stern. Once one of America's most closely guarded secrets, these materials now reside on the public Web site of the National Security Agency and reveal not only that America was rife with spies but that spying tended to be an excruciatingly mundane pursuit (Larson, 2011, p. 372).

I can't wait to explore some of these resources in the the Cold War International History Project and in the National Security Agency Web site.

Larson, E. (2011). In the garden of beasts: Love, terror, and an American family in Hitler's Berlin. New York: Crown.

C&RL News Article - Jersey Shore as a popular culture example in information literacy classes

2011-02-10T12:43:00.004-06:00

I co-wrote an article with Kathryl Yelinek about using Jersey Shore as a theme in library instruction sessions.

Here it is! Enjoy!

HTML version:
Teaching with The Situation-
Jersey Shore as a popular culture example in information literacy classes

PDF version:
Teaching with The Situation-
Jersey Shore as a popular culture example in information literacy classes

Print access:
February 2011. College & Research Libraries News. vol. 72 no. 2 78-118.

Click here to read my past blog posts about Jersey Shore themed library instruction sessions.

REVAMPED: Jersey Shore Themed Library Instruction

2010-11-04T17:13:00.011-05:00

Are you ready for T-shirt Time? How about some more fist pumping fun?!

I decided to try new Jersey Shore infused methods in a recent Intro to Management class.

The professor wanted me to show the students how to locate company profiles, industry profiles, and articles.

I have been hating on PowerPoint, and therefore, I used Prezi as my presentation application. You can save a Prezi to your computer, or you can access it online. View my presentation here. The professor of this class has the students do many presentations throughout the semester, and this was also an opportunity to explain that Prezi is an exciting alternative to PowerPoint. The professor asked me questions about Prezi and encouraged his class to use it. FTW!

For some odd reason, the YouTube video that I used is not currently working in my Prezi. I showed this video to the students before demonstrating how they should do a keyword search in LexisNexis. It looks like someone disabled the ability to embed this video. Here is the link to the video. It's great. You must watch it.

The students laughed at the video. It was a perfect transition to searching in a database to find out if there were articles written on the tanning tax and the possible impact on the tanning/salon industry. Keywords used: tanning, tax, Obama.

Next, I took the students to First Research and the Economic Census. We searched for the laundry industry. Searching for information on the laundry industry was to pay our respects to GTL (a common phrase on the show). We found the NAICS for the laundry industry and searched in various ways.

To teach the students about how to find information on a company, I showed the students how to search in Hoovers and Business Source Premier. I started this discussion by showing the students an article about purse companies mailing free purses from their competitors to Snooki as an act of unbranding and product placement. It was a huge hit. The students seemed to be REALLY interested in this story. We jumped on over to Hoovers and Business Source Premier to search for company profiles and competitor lists of both Gucci and Coach.

Lastly, I talked about searching in both Google Scholar & Google Uncle Sam. Sadly, Jersey Shore was not referenced in this short section.

Throughout the lives of many Gen Y students, they have been presented with many choices. Would you like to play t-ball or soccer? Would you like a Hi-C or a Capri Sun? Prefering to have many choices is a known characteristic of Gen Y. Of course, I am making generational generalizations. **This Gen Y characteristic certainly does not apply to all students.

For the reasons listed above, I am hoping that when I present them with choices in library instruction, they'll feel more ownership over the objectives.

I had the students work in groups of four. I designed three separate hand-outs, and they were given the choice of whether or not they were on Team Situation (fitness industry), Team Vinny (bar/nightclub industry), or Team Pauly D (music industry). These industries match the characteristics presented on the show for each character. For example, Pauly D is a DJ. Images of the handouts are shown below. Click on image to view a larger version. I gave the students about 20 minutes to work on the handouts. We have 70 minute class periods. The students worked on either their laptops or library desktops to find the answers. I walked around to make sure that they were finding the correct information and staying on task.

After the students were finished with the handouts, we discussed the results as a full class. I asked random questions to each group, and it was clear that every group had thoroughly completed the tasks! It was impressive. I really think that this library instruction helped the majority of the students become better researchers.

Read some of my other ideas for using pop culture in library instruction.

Do you need more evidence that using humor and pop culture will help to engage students in the learning objectives? Read here. I strongly encourage that you read Teaching with the Brain in Mind to learn about what strategies cause the brain to retain information.

How are you using pop culture in instruction? Please list your methods in the comments!

*USELESS INFORMATION: More students chose to be on Team Vinny and Team Pauly D. Not very many students were feeling the love for The Situation...

Product Placement, Unbranding, & Snooki

2010-08-23T10:20:00.003-05:00

Snooki is in the news again.

This time it's not about her recent "hook-up" or her "poof."

Purse-makers are reportedly sending her free bags from their competitors! Read more here.

How do I find out more about these purse-makers? Who are their competitors?

These are perfect questions for showcasing library databases!!

Company profiles with competitor information- Hoovers, Business Source Premier, LexisNexis Academic,...

Industry reports - First Research, Hoovers, Business Source Premier, Gartner Group Research Portal,...

Scholarly resources on branding, unbranding, and product placement - Business Source Premier, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Google Scholar,...

Jersey Shore: The Gift That Keeps on Giving..

2010-08-11T14:56:00.009-05:00

I embrace using pop culture in library instruction sessions. You can read some previous entries here.

Last spring, I gave Jersey Shore themed library instruction sessions. I had previously focused on the GTL (gym, tanning, and laundry) industries. Also, I highlighted Pauly D's DJ career in the music industry. Don't forget about assessing HR tactics and appropriate dress. JWOWW's apparel choices probably wouldn't be considered as *work professional.*

Luckily MTV picked up another season! The 2nd season takes place in Miami (so far). I have watched two episodes (I don't have TV.. I watch online).

Jersey Shore is library heaven for me. Here are some ideas that I am considering using in fall library instruction sessions:

Jail Statistics
Unfortunately for Snooki (fortunately for a librarian), Snooki was recently arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in New Jersey. Research skills taught in an information literacy instruction session could be centered on jail statistics per state. Also, I'm sure that there are articles (scholarly and popular) on the public perception and treatment of jailed "celebrities."

Nationality statistics of each state
There has been a lot of controversy about who is actually Italian of the Jersey Shore housemates. What is the percentage of Italians in New Jersey? Compare it to other states. I know that Wisconsin and Minnesota residents are predominantly German. I know that I have used National Journal to seek this information in the past. The Statistical Abstract of the United States and the Census Bureau websites would also be showcased.

Wife Beaters
HOW/WHEN/WHY did people start referring to the A-shirt as a *wife beater* in the United States? Wife beaters are both worn and mentioned often on Jersey Shore. Recently "The Situation" spoke in detail about wearing a "shirt before the shirt." Watch episode 2. I have not explored this research opportunity. I will definitely try to find the answer before using this as an example in an instruction session. There may not be a clear answer to this question. Regardless, I think that students will be entertained during the search process.

.

Assessing Library Tweets

2010-07-28T11:38:00.006-05:00

In order to remain relevant as a tweeting library, I think that the @csbsjulibraries need to tweet at least 2x per day. At this point, I am the sole librarian that is submitting tweets on behalf of the library. The @csbsjulibraries have been tweeting since Aug. 25, 2009.

I decided that it was time to assess the content of our tweets. After skimming through our twitterfeed, I created these categories:

Recent news/research
Highlighting library databases/print collection
Book reviews/booklists
Interdisciplinary/higher ed
Highlighting library events/displays
Highlighting library services

I then read the last 203 tweets and put them in these categories. Some tweets did not fit into any of the above categories. These tweets are included in *Not applicable.*

Here is the pie chart:Now that I have this categorical breakdown, I know what improvements can be made. I think that we should be tweeting more about our library services. This number should be at least 10%. I plan to reevaluate our tweets in 6 months.

How are you assessing your library tweets?

Guest post about HootSuite on LibraryTechTalk!

2010-04-13T15:50:00.003-05:00

I'm honored to have been asked to write a guest post for LibraryTechTalk Blog about HootSuite! Go here to read the post or read below.

Librarians, If you have a Twitter account for your library, I highly recommend tweeting from HootSuite.com.

If you currently tweet from the original web version of Twitter.com, follow these instructions to simplify tweeting on behalf of your library.
Go to HootSuite.com and register. Since I am the sole person that tweets for our library, I tweet for both @csbsjulibraries and @amylibrarian from one HootSuite account. See below. You check which account you would like to tweet from.

In the web version of Twitter, you can see if someone is using HootSuite or another Twitter application.

If a library uses HootSuite, it appears like this.

When someone tweets directly from Twitter.com, it appears like this:

The biggest benefit of using HootSuite is that you can schedule tweets. I know that we have a Book Lovers event on April 13th. I have already sent a tweet advertising for the event, but I'd also like to send a tweet on the day of the event. Here is how I would do it.

(Click on the image to enlarge)
Here is what it looks like in HootSuite when you have scheduled tweets. You have a list of tweets that have been sent and a list of tweets that are pending. You can go back and edit any tweets that are pending.

(Click on the image to enlarge)

When I used the original web version of Twitter, I would try to tweet each day. This was time consuming. I felt pressured to be "on the spot."
Now that I can schedule tweets, I spend a dedicated amount of time scheduling tweets for weeks in advance instead of dabbling in Twitter each day.

I realized last week that Holocaust Remembrance Day was coming up on Sunday, April 11th. I do not work on Sundays. This is not a problem, I scheduled the Tweet.

Another great feature of HootSuite is that you can easily view conversations of back and forth 'replies' with patrons. Just click on Show Conversation.

After clicking on show conversation, you will see the back and forth dialogue.

In December, the library had extended hours for finals, but the automated lights were still set for our normal library hours. Unfortunately, this left our students in the dark at midnight. I heard about this situation through Twitter!

(Yes, I asked permission to use @rebeccapeichel's tweets)

Please let me know if you have any questions about using HootSuite!

Amy Springer is a Government and Business Information Librarian at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University. She is the liaison to the Management, Economics, and Accounting departments. She is interested in how libraries can effectively and efficiently use social media. She is also interested in using pop culture in library instruction. She is the Ch-Ch-Ch Changing librarian at http://ch-ch-chchanginglibrarian.blogspot.com

You don't have to be just a Libtechtalk groupie. Did you know that this blog is looking for guest authors? Contact ctomlinson at towson.edu to find out how you too can write about your favorite technologies and how they might be used in academic libraries.

Are you tweeting?

2010-03-24T20:35:00.010-05:00

Are you tweeting?

Are you tweeting for your library?

I am impressed with what I have seen from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign tweets. They have a Twitter account specifically for their undergraduate population.Their Twitter moniker is @askundergrad. They provide helpful research tips and news about events in the library. My favorite thing that they do is include the streaming tweets on their undergraduate library webpage.

Look at the right-side of the page.

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Early adopters will already be following the tweets on Twitter, but for students, staff, and faculty that do not use Twitter, they can view the tweets from the undergraduate webpage. It's just another form of communication.

I had the privilege of hearing from the brains behind the @askundergrad Twitter account. @Rudibrarian presented at the Library Technology Conference last week. She mentioned that they schedule their tweets with HooteSuit (a Twitter client). On the @askundergrad twitter page, you can see that they use HootSuite.
When someone tweets directly from Twitter.com, it appears like this:
I switched from the web version of Twitter to HooteSuite, and I am VERY pleased. I can write multiple tweets and schedule them for the future. This is helpful for random research tips and scheduled events. For example, I have already set up a tweet explaining our hours during commencement weekend (early May). Being able to spend a couple of hours scheduling tweets is much more effective than submitting tweets daily through the web portal. Also, when I used the normal Twitter web platform, I tended to "dump" a bunch of tweets, and then the followers receive a bunch of @csbsjulibraries' tweets at one time instead of interspersed.

Here is what it looks like in HootSuite:

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Did I mention that I will be in Mexico next week? Since I will be absent, I feel at ease knowing that the tweets will keep flowing from the library account...

Follow the @csbsjulibraries.

Follow my personal account on Twitter.

Here is a list of other libraries that are on Twitter.

Jersey Shore Round 2

2010-03-11T12:06:00.019-06:00

I have previously blogged about Jersey Shore themed library instructions.

I was asked to teach a library instruction session for a Principles of Marketing class.

The weather is rainy today, and students seem lethargic. I started the presentation with WHY I am here.

Then, I said, "I know some of you are expecting this to be boring. You think librarians are boring and that all we do is read. So, I'm going to spice it up today with Jersey Shore. Your research will now be referred to as The Sitaution."

The majority of the students laughed.

I told the students that their research project is to compile and analyze company and industry data. I told them today we'd be creepin' for industry and company profiles based on GTL: Gym, Tanning, and Laundry.

We used First Research to find industry profiles for Laundry Facilities (the preferred name for the industry). ***I should mention that I hate PowerPoint, but I feel like visuals are really important when integrating pop culture into library instruction.

(This photo is of Pauly D. and "The Situation" picking up their laundry.)

Then, we used Hoovers and LexisNexis to search for company data for Gyms. We searched by industry in Hoovers to find a list of companies. We search with these keywords: Fitness Centers.

We were able to learn more about the Fitness Centers industry as well as get a list of companies. Some examples: Bally Total Fitness, Lifetime, Gold's Gym.

Then we went to LexisNexis and searched for news and journal articles about Bally Total Fitness.

Next we explored Business Source Premier for scholarly articles on the "target markets" as well as company profiles. Our focus? Tanning. FYI- Tanning is in the Cosmetic and Beauty Industry. (This photo is "The Situation" getting into a tanning bed.)

Throughout the instruction session, I taught the students about which keywords to use and tricks like truncation and putting phrases in quotation marks.
Next, I gave them an in-class assignment to apply what they had learned. Each student had to complete this task before leaving class. I also made them export their citations to RefWorks.

Click here if you are skeptical of this library instruction style.

Library Databases Need to be Flashier.

2010-03-08T15:44:00.034-06:00

Library databases are visually boring. Libraries and librarians have to battle enough stereotypes that include the word *boring.*

Databases are not cheap. I don't think I'm being greedy by suggesting improvement. Our students need stimulus. They like 3D. Dear Ebsco, please make 3D databases and supply us with 3D glasses (half joking).

Students like TMZ.com. They like ESPN. They like FMyLife.

Give us some color. How about some images? Show a little effort.

I randomly went through some databases and graded them based on whether or not they were visually appealing. This list is worst to best.

1. Art Full Text by Wilson Web.

Grade: D
Too much white space
Not enough color
No images
Boring font

It's a database for art resources. Make it artsy.

2. LexisNexis Academic

Grade: D
Not enough color
Too much white space
No images
Small text
Boring font

3. Academic Search Premier by Ebsco
Grade: C-
Too much white space
No images (although, they do show images on the results page)
Boring font

Ebsco does allow some options for changing the colors, but I haven't found any options to be appealing.

4. Credo Reference
Grade: C
Too much white space
Not enough color
Nice images
Nice logo

Improvement is needed.

5. Business Source Premier by Ebsco
Grade: B-
No images
Boring font
I like that Business Source Premier is somewhat unique from the other Ebsco databases, but improvement is needed.
So much more could be done in terms of icons and images. How easy is it to take a few photos representing industry or business settings?

6. JSTOR
Grade: B+
Great colors
Calming when students are panicking about their research
I love the JSTOR logo.
I think it could be improved with more images.

7. ProQuest Newstand
Grade: B+
Nice colors
Lacking images
I like the tabs.
There is room for improvement.

8. Hoovers
Grade: A-
Nice image & logo
I love the tabs
Nice color choices
It is fun yet professional
I am not a fan of the advertisement because when we instruct on website evaluation, we mention that high quality resources do not have ads. It's a magazine v. academic journal comparison.

(Yes, this is the library subscription version of Hoovers)

9. Points of View Reference Center by Ebsco
Grade: A-
This is the best that I have seen from Ebsco.
Decent image
Nice colors
Limited white space
I like the boxes.
Well organized
Memorable

10. ARTSTOR
Grade: A
Image
The colors are easy on the eye.
It's memorable.
Awesome font choices
Students will remember that they came here.
They'll want to come back for more.

11. GREENR by Gale
Grade: A
Awesome use of images
Limited usage of text
Fabulous color selection
Videos
Gale seems focused on web design. Read our Twitter conversations here.
It looks like a website. This is good because students are familiar with navigating websites. The thing that worries me is that librarians have to teach students about credibility differences between websites and databases. If databases start to look too much like websites, this will be more of a challenge for librarians. With that being said, I am willing to accept this challenge!

.

C&RL News article

2010-03-03T15:11:00.005-06:00

I just read It Came From Hollywood: Using Popular Media to Enhance Information Literacy Instruction by Nedra Peterson.

The key word is enhance.

For all of the skeptics of the Jersey Shore Themed Information Literacy instruction, I want to reinforce that the ultimate goal of the session was improving the information literacy skills of the students. The session was enhanced by integrating popular culture. We weren't jumping around doing fist pumps. Although, it did cross my mind.

Peterson brings up some great points in her article.

Students have stereotypes about libraries and librarians. "Let's just say students need some serious convincing. Using clips from film, television, commercials, and popular music as part of classroom instruction immediately grabs students' attention" (Peterson, 2010, p. 66). I would also suggest images. My photos from Jersey Shore worked as effectively as showing clips from the show. I avoided clips from the show because they would probably be too raunchy.

Also, Peterson writes about Affective Learning. She writes, "Affective Learning theory posits that our brains perform differently depending on emotional arousal" (Peterson, 2010, p. 67). I have blogged about this in relation to plagiarism. I think students are intimidated and often bored when librarians talk about plagiarism. *This post is about drawing an emotional reaction to plagiarism with a movie clip.

This fall, there was an unfortunate situation where several news outlets wrongly reported that a former Vikings football player had died. Students were familiar with this story from the mainstream media, but without help from a librarian, they probably wouldn't have made the connection to the importance of evaluating websites. *Read more about this here.

If you are interested in learning more about making emotional connections, I highly recommend reading Teaching with the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen. I loved this book. All educators should be required to read it.

References

Peterson, N. (2010). It came from Hollywood - Using popular media to enhance information literacy instruction. College & Research Libraries News. 71 (2), 66.

Jersey Shore Themed Library Instruction

2010-03-03T08:53:00.017-06:00

The rumors are true. I taught a Jersey Shore themed library instruction session.

I had two library instruction sessions scheduled on this past Friday. Of course, I am always elated to teach students how to do research, but I was not particularly excited about it on this day.

The Reason:

It was the last day before Spring Break. Therefore, I knew that I would be competing for their attention.

It was ME vs. Facebook + "Did I buy enough Sunblock?" + Twitter + "How hawt will I look in my bikini?" + "Did I remember to pack my IPOD?"

I had already planned what I was going to teach. I had an outline, and I was prepared. By 8:00 AM, a little voice in my head was telling me to throw a wrench in my plans. I needed to SPICE IT UP.

Game on!

The class was called Work and Values in a Diverse Society. The Professor wanted me to give tips for their research paper on gender issues and management. *Prior to the instruction session, I asked the professor if I had permission to do a Jersey Shore themed library instruction. She granted the approval.

If you haven't seen the show, a lot of this will NOT make sense, but believe me, 18-22 year olds watch this show.

I started with this slide:
I asked, "What does GTL mean to you?"

A few of the male students chuckled.

Then, I showed this slide and said, "Here's a hint."

This is the moment when the students realized that this was not a typical encounter with a librarian.

In unison, the students said, "Gym, Tanning, Laundry."

I said, "Correct, but today it's changed to Gym, Tanning, Library."

Then, I explained more about their research paper. I announced that their research paper would now be referred to as "THE SITUATION." Also, I announced that I took the Facebook quiz, "What Jersey Shore Cast Member are you?" The quiz revealed that I was most like J-WOWW. So, I asked them to please refer to me as A-WOWW (Obviously I did not really enforce this).
I explained that instead of searching through the library databases, we'd be creepin' today.

Coming up with a scenario to use for the research was a challenge. I experimented pre-instruction with Snooki's future career as a vet tech and gender issues, but there were very few articles on this topic. So, I ended up using two search examples that provided more results:

Pauly D. is an aspiring DJ. So, I explained that we were going to do some research on his behalf.
We used these keywords: "music industry" gender discrimination

In the second session, I used a different scenario, and it was more successful. We searched on behalf of J-WOWW and Snooki. They are well known for their "interesting" apparel choices. So, I showed this slide, and we discussed which keywords to use. We tried these keywords: "dress code" gender management.

If you are questioning the usage of this show as a theme for library instruction, ask yourself this, "Will the students remember this library session? Will they remember me (A-WOWW) as a person to contact with research questions?"

An hour after the session, I already had an emailed request for an individual research appointment to discuss this particular assignment.

I think that adding humor and pop culture will help students retain valuable information. We covered everything that I had originally wanted to cover in the instruction session (various databases that are recommended for this subject, cross-searching with WorldCat Local & Google Scholar, RefWorks).

Read more on the value of using pop culture in information literacy instruction.

How have you integrated pop culture into library instruction?

Click here if you are skeptical of this library instruction style.

Government Document of the Month

2009-12-14T15:12:00.007-06:00

December's Government Document of the Month is...

Website Evaluation: Real Life Examples

2009-10-29T16:04:00.008-05:00

Librarians can preach about the importance of website evaluation, but does it "click" with the students?

If your students happen to follow current events and/or sports, using this example may spark some interest.

Yesterday, there was a fact checking fiasco in the social networking AND news world.

It all started when someone updated their Myspace page. This person stated that Orlando Thomas, former NFL (Vikings) player, had lost his battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease.

From there, the word traveled to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The University felt that it was important to notify the Minnesota Vikings (his former NFL team).

The Vikings then posted information on their webpage about honoring the life of Orlando Thomas at the next home game.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune then published an article on the topic.

ESPN and Sports Illustrated followed with articles about Thomas' death.

Wikipedia was edited to list Orlando Thomas' date of death (October 28, 2009). *I saw it. It has since been corrected. I should have taken a screen shot.

Then, the same mess that began with Social Networking ended with Social Networking. A former NFL player, Jake Reed tweeted that Orlando was alive.

This tangled mess and failure to fact check and evaluate websites is horribly sad, but it a teachable moment to inform students about the risks of using inaccurate information from sources that lack authority. This really blurs the line between sources of News v. The National Enquirer or TMZ.

I used these PowerPoint slides today in a library instruction session for a Principles of Marketing class to show the importance of fact checking and evaluating websites.

News articles after corrections were made:
Star Tribune: Vikings' Website Report Citing Thomas' Death Was Incorrect

ESPN: Thomas Still Battling ALS

More Google Tricks: Population, time, weather

2009-10-28T13:33:00.004-05:00

Here are some more tricks that I discovered with Google. You can find the population by just typing the word Population and the name of the state or county.

Maybe you are traveling and confused about time zones. If so, you can type time and a the name of the city or state, Google will list the current time.

There are multiple websites and news sources that give the weather, but did you know that you could also get the weather in a Google search? Isn't that cool? Just type weather and the name of the city.

Government document of the month

2009-10-27T15:25:00.005-05:00

I chose Theodore Roosevelt and the Dakota Badlands to be the Government Document for the month of October. Click here for item location.

Appreciation of the National Parks has been given more attention thanks to Ken Burns' film The National Parks: America's Best Idea. The CSB/SJU library owns the DVD set. Click here for the location information.

Google tricks: Unemployment rate, calculator, conversions,..

2009-10-27T09:05:00.009-05:00

I have plugged Google's Uncle Sam feature in the past for researching government information, but there are some other Google features that are really neat. @thenweagree alerted me to the fact that you can type unemployment rate and a county name in the Google search box to get charted data on the unemployment rate of your county.

Also, I commonly use the Google search box as a calculator. You can simply type the math problem into the search box to get an answer.

Google can also be used for conversions. If you are traveling to the United Kingdom, you may want to know the conversion rate from U.S. Dollars to Pounds.

I buy my hot sauce in bulk. I love spicy food. So, when my recipe called for one 2 oz. bottle of hot sauce, I wasn't sure about how much that would be in terms of my measuring cups.

For previous posts on other tricks of Google, click here.

It's October 12th, and it's SNOWING.

2009-10-12T09:31:00.008-05:00

This photo is from my commute to work. The early snow made me wonder about books and government resources for weather and climate.

Online Government Resources:
1. National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center: National Snow Analyses
2 . Natural Resources Conservation Service: SNOTEL Data & Products
3. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Recent Snowfall and Snow Depth Maps
4 . Minnesota Department of Public Safety: Snowplow Safety

Government Documents:
1. Poor Richard improved : being an almanack and ephemeris of the motions of the sun and moon; the true places and aspects of the planets; the rising and setting of the sun, and the rising, setting and southing of the moon, for the year of our Lord 1758: being the second after leap-year ... / By Richard Saunders, philom. [pseud]. Author: Benjamin Franklin.
2. Road weather management [microform] : highlights of the Federal program.
3. Hourly precipitation data. Minnesota / U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Weather Bureau.
4. Climatological data. Minnesota [microform].

P.S. I do not recommend taking photos while you're driving. It's dangerous, and those pesky windshield wipers get in the way... :)

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

2009-10-07T12:47:00.004-05:00

Here are some government and library resources that I recommend for studying or staying informed about Breast Cancer.

Government resources:
1. National Institutes of Health: Breast Cancer
2. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Breast Cancer
3. National Human Genone Research Institute: Learning About Breast Cancer
4. MedlinePlus: Breast Cancer
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Breast Cancer
6. N ational Cancer Institute: Breast Cancer Screening and Testing
7. Impact of gene expression profiling tests on breast cancer outcomes / prepared by the Johns Hopkins University
8. Antiperspirants/deodorants and breast cancer (from Cancer.gov)
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2008
9. Addressing the screening gap : the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program : hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Books:
1. No family history : the environmental links to breast cancer / Sabrina McCormick.
2. After the cure : the untold stories of breast cancer survivors / Emily K. Abel and Saskia Subramanian
3. The 10 best questions for surviving breast cancer : the script you need to take control of your health / Dede Bonner
4. The breast cancer book : what you need to know to make informed decisions / Ruth H. Grobstein.

Not so typical blog post

2009-10-05T16:15:00.002-05:00

This blog is ALWAYS about higher education and/or libraries.

I just have to cheat.

Just once.

Check out this FANATIC family.

(me, my fabulous sister Lindsey, Dad, Mom)

Librarian Assisted Twitter Assignment in the Classroom

2009-07-22T12:00:00.007-05:00

One of our accounting instructors requested that I help her class become acclimated to Twitter through one of their assignments.

She created an assignment where the class would be debating the ethics of employers judging current and prospective employees based on their social media content. The class is Payroll Accounting, and they are studying this topic from an HR standpoint. The assignment is a great fit for helping the students understand that their online content is easily search-able and accessible, as well as learning the benefits of using social media.

The two sides of the debate are:

Yes - #yessn Yes, it is ethical for employers to judge an employee by their social networking content

No - #nosn No, it is not ethical for employers to judge an employee by their social networking content

I taught the students the basics of using Twitter, the different privacy settings, how to use #hashtags, how to shorten links, and how to search Twitter using http://search.twitter.com/ or following hyperlinked #hashtags as shown below.

Students are asked to tweet from their standpoint in the debate by posting comments and links to different resources. I talked about how their next step is to conduct research and find material to incorporate into the tweets. Researching and sharing information ties into my role as the librarian. The students must tweet four times per week for four weeks. Students are also required to reply directly to their classmates in at least three tweets per week.

I look forward to hearing how other librarians are collaborating with faculty and implementing Twitter and other Social Media in daily instruction.

Educational uses of Social Networking and Microblogging

2009-06-30T11:28:00.005-05:00

I recently gave a presentation to our faculty on the educational uses of Social Networking and Microblogging. Some faculty members had some experience dabbling in the various tools, but some were brand new to the ideas. I created a PowerPoint explaining:
Facebook.com
Linkedin.com
Myspace.com
Twitter.com

I shared some videos, and I found that this video on how a professor uses Twitter in the classroom was the most intriguing for faculty members.

I made the PowerPoint slides from my presentation available on SlideShare.

After the presentation, a faculty member approached me about collaborating next quarter in a project to get her students more involved in using Twitter for sharing links on a group project that will develop into a debate with two teams using different hashtags. I will keep you updated on the progress of this experiment.

*A special thanks to Cindy Bassett for sharing her experiences with presenting on Twitter to faculty. Twitter was a great tool for getting ideas on what educators need to know about social media.

Jing

2009-06-30T11:00:00.005-05:00

Are you using Jing? It's really easy and FREE. You can capture images or videos for tutorials. I was able to make this video. It was my first attempt. Then, I attempted practicing with sound.

I think this tool will be most useful in chat or email reference interviews when you reach a dead end. Usually, I take screen shots and create a word document guide for students. Then, I have to attach it via email. Now, if I am on chat reference (Meebo), I will be able to just paste the URL.